Toward the Design of a Transport Layer for Networked Control Systems

In a ‘classical’ control system, such as the one shown in Figure 9.1, the system components (sensor, controller and actuator) are connected through dedicated and reliable communication links. As we move to deploy wireless networked control systems over a wireless communication medium, such as in Figure 9.2, we are faced with new problems. In particular, interference and channel fading result in unpredictable packet loss and delay. In data networks, where data integrity is paramount, the dropped packets may simply be retransmitted until they are successfully received. However, in control and sensor network systems, data has a time value, and transmitting outdated data has limited value. Instead of retransmitting the dropped data, it may be better to transmit any new data that is available.

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